Sex chats on social networking app Grindr lead to man's arrest

A 29-year-old Jupiter man was worried that the 15-year-old boy he thought he was talking to on a gay social networking application was an undercover cop.

"I'm just nervous...," Christopher Siegert allegedly wrote to the officer. "I'm afraid you're a cop."

That fear was justified, it turns out.

Now Siegert faces the prospect of spending between 10 years and life in federal prison after he agreed to meet the undercover Boynton Beach officer on Dec. 20, after offering oral sex and saying he wanted to take the 'teen' to a sex shop.

When Siegert showed up to meet the 'boy' that afternoon at a 7-Eleven, Boynton Beach police officers arrested him, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court.

Siegert was charged with one federal count of enticement, which prohibits the use of interstate commerce (the Internet) to "knowingly persuade, induce, entice or coerce a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity," the complaint reads.

Siegert and the undercover officer, whose name is not provided, met on the gay social networking app Grindr on Nov. 12, authorities said.

Using the online name "R/T," Siegert allegedly started the conversation by asking the officer how he was doing and they began talking. At one point, R/T asked the officer how old he was. The undercover responded with, "Younger then u."

Later that night, Siegert asked the cop his age, telling him that he would share his log-in information for a gay pornographic website "if you're old enough," the complaint said. After telling the cop that he could find himself in trouble if he was talking to somebody under the age of 18, the undercover said, "I won't tell … hehe."

The two continued to chat online. The next day, the undercover officer told R/T he was in the 10th grade and Siegert allegedly responded with "Ooh...You're Young.. 15-16." Later in the conversation, Siegert allegedly sent the undercover a message that said, "It's a shame your too young."

On Nov. 17, the two agreed to meet after Siegert said he wanted to hang out "if you don't find that creepy," the complaint said. The undercover officer agreed and Siegert asked if the officer was going "turn the cops on" him. Using symbols in the place of profanity, the officer wrote "F@$( the cops...No," according to the complaint.

Meanwhile, police received the subscriber information from AT&T Wireless for the phone number Siegert had been using to communicate with the undercover officer.

Their conversations continued to become more explicit, with Siegert allegedly talking about using sex toys with the undercover. He also allegedly said he wanted to bring the boy to a porn shop.

They agreed to meet the afternoon of Dec. 20. Siegert was stopped at the intersection of 13th Avenue and Seacrest Avenue by a Boynton Beach police officer.

According to the complaint, filed by a special agent with Homeland Security Investigations, Siegert said he knew what he did was wrong. He said it was the first time he had ever traveled to meet somebody and that he was nervous, the complaint stated.